[Oak Grove]

I live in Virginia, an open primary State. Also, I am a County Republican Chairman.

Open primaries exist because establishment Republicans want independents and Democrats to vote in their primaries, as the winners are more liberal.

In Virginia, Senator John Warner won the open primaries when he was challenged. He would have lost his seat had the primaries been closed.

To close the primaries, we need to replace the liberal leaders in the State party organizations.

[Sam Gamgee]

As an outsider looking in, as I am from Canada, I have always been baffled by the primary process. It always seemed like a no shit sherlock moment, that liberals would flood open primaries to get a milquetoast Republican to win.

[Nifster]

Precisely

[A'elian' nation]

“we need to replace the liberal leaders in the State party organizations.”

Hard to believe there would be a lot of liberal leaders needing replacement in the southern states I mentioned. Is it like Cyper Liberty mentioned - that if it was a closed primary the party has to pay for the election, but if it is open all the taxpayers pay for it ?

Do you recall a state changing its primaries to open or closed periodically? How often does a primary revert to one or the other?